Overview: Most entries in the hot-selling compact-crossover segment prioritize utility over personality, going about the business of transporting people and stuff without much flair. Not so the Jeep Cherokee, which brings rugged attitude to the table with its butch looks and, when properly equipped, legitimate off-road credibility.

Plenty of controversy surrounded the revival of Jeep’s legendary Cherokee name for a car-based crossover with polarizing styling when this model made its debut as a 2014 model. But the haters have quieted down. Anyway, they seem not to have much influence with the buying public: Cherokee was the bestselling Jeep nameplate in 2015. The Cherokee lineup offers more variety than most competitors have: You can choose among two engines, front-wheel drive or two different four-wheel-drive systems, and seven trim levels that range from the spartan base model to pricey upper trims that rival luxury SUVs in equipment. For this review, we drove the most off-road-oriented Cherokee, the Trailhawk four-by-four, equipped with the optional 3.2-liter V-6 engine.

What’s New: The only mechanical update to the Cherokee since its debut came in the 2015 model year, when Jeep added an engine start-stop (ESS) system to V-6 models; this improved EPA city fuel-economy numbers by 1 to 2 mpg on most versions. It operates mostly unobtrusively in normal driving, but those bothered by the engine’s shutting down at stoplights can easily find the console button to turn off the system. That’s a choice you’ll have to make on each outing. ESS returns to “on” as the default, but at the first stop of each drive, a reminder light on the dash asks if the driver wants to turn it off.

A luxurious Overland trim level was added to the top of the Cherokee range for 2016, offering a more polished exterior appearance, plenty of standard features, and plusher interior materials in exchange for its high price (loaded V-6 4x4 Overland models can top $40,000). A 75th Anniversary model also joined the lineup earlier this year, based on the mid-level Latitude trim, with some visual tweaks including different wheels, bronze trim pieces, and an available exterior color, Recon Green, that’s exclusive to the special edition.

What We Like: The Cherokee imparts a feeling of solidity on the road, with secure handling and a firm, controlled ride. When equipped with the optional 3.2-liter V-6 engine, it’s fairly quick and sporty-feeling considering its mass—the last Cherokee V-6 we tested weighed in at 4382 pounds, nearly 1000 pounds heavier than a four-cylinder Honda CR-V. Even the Trailhawk model, with its knobby off-road tires, has decent road manners thanks to well-weighted steering and good body control. The interior looks and feels similar to that of the more expensive Grand Cherokee, and the Uconnect touchscreen, which controls navigation, audio, and climate functions, is easy and intuitive to use.

What We Don’t Like: Jeep needs room to cram beefy four-wheel-drive hardware into the Cherokee’s compact-car architecture, so the interior packaging suffers even on models that lack those goodies. Rear-seat room and cargo space don’t measure up to competitors like the Honda CR-V and the Toyota RAV4, and the high lift-over height can make it a challenge to load large or heavy items into the cargo area. The base 2.4-liter four-cylinder engine is best avoided, as it’s unrefined and struggles against the Cherokee’s substantial mass. The nine-speed automatic transmission that is standard on all models doesn’t help: it’s sometimes slow to kick down when the driver requests more oomph. The V-6’s power and torque help compensate for the gearbox’s occasional confusion, but the engine upgrade makes for a thirsty Cherokee. Our most recent tests of V-6­ four-wheel-drive Cherokee models netted 18 and 20 mpg combined, while an all-wheel-drive four-cylinder CR-V averaged 25 mpg in our care.

Verdict: Leave it to Jeep to create a compact crossover that charts its own rugged course in a sea of bland boxes.

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